


like an old songbird

by halfsour (noblydonedonnanoble)



Category: Bon Appétit Test Kitchen (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, sorry Claire, update Delany is trash and Claire didn't deserve for me to write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23645551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noblydonedonnanoble/pseuds/halfsour
Summary: About a month after Alex started atBon Appétit, he began to greet Claire by telling her his “song of the day” vibe report.
Relationships: Alex Delany/Claire Saffitz
Comments: 24
Kudos: 74





	like an old songbird

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic was supposed to be the only BA fic that I shared with the world, but apparently I'm won over by generous compliments, because I'm back already with more.
> 
> Playlist [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3W14qnUpsM82IfE3XNglDq?si=19gI4c-ET8CqZlgDP9puGQ) for your joint listening/reading pleasure.

About a month after Alex started at _Bon Appétit_, he began to greet Claire by telling her his “song of the day” vibe report.

“What does that even mean?” she asked with a laugh, the first day he leaned over her desk to announce that the vibe was, “California,” by Joni Mitchell.

He’d just shrugged and looked at her like she should know better. “It’s just the vibe, Saffitz. Y’know, the… the weather outside, the mood you were in when you rolled out of bed, the feeling that your coffee gave you when you took your first sip. The vibe.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting that all of those things can be encapsulated in one song.”

“As a matter of fact, I am.” He brandished his coffee at her and raised his eyebrows. “You know ‘California,’ yeah? You seem like you must have gone through a Joni Mitchell phase in college.”

Claire felt her face heating up, even though liking Joni Mitchell was nothing to be embarrassed about. It was more the fact that Delany _knew_. What was it about her that gave it away? What was it about him that he was able to tell? “Yeah, I know ‘California.’”

“Go ahead and give it another listen. That’s the vibe.”

She listened to it on her walk from the subway back home, and as she looked around at the gray city around her, she had to admit that perhaps it did encompass quite a bit of the day’s vibe.

\-- _“I Wonder” by The Gants_ \--

It was after a few weeks of this that Claire started to feel, vaguely, like she should keep track of this list somehow.

Not that she really liked the idea of allowing someone to goad her into listening to their music, but in the cases that she knew what the hell he was talking about, she could tell that he had good – and _varied_ – taste, and she kind of liked the idea of being able to passively generate an endless commuting playlist with Alex’s help.

He was already busy at his desk when she arrived at work, but he glanced up from his computer and spotted Claire as she wove her way past their co-workers.

“Delany!” she said by way of greeting. “I gotta know the vibe.”

“A-ha, I’ve hooked you!” Alex’s eyes sparkled. “And you were skeptical about days having a vibe.”

Claire felt her lips curling up into a smirk. “I’m thinking about it. That’s why I need the updates, you know? For more data.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “‘I Wonder’ by The Gants. Perfect for a sunny fall day.”

She listened to it over lunch, and she had to agree.

\-- _“I Like You” by dandelion hands_ \--

A winter cold went around the office, and despite her best efforts, Claire caught it, keeping her away from BA for three days. By the time she was back, it had put Alex out of commission.

He texted her that afternoon while he was on her lunch break.

_We were supposed to get back to vibe reports today_.

Claire smiled. _Damn colds_.

As an after-thought, she followed up with, _So the vibe?_

Delany didn’t answer for almost twenty minutes.

_“I Like You” by dandelion hands. Sounds like my head feels right now_.

\-- _“Do You Feel It” by Holy Wave_ \--

Claire was running _so_ late. Like, way more than her usual late, late.

Everything had gone wrong that morning. She’d somehow managed to sleep through her alarm, despite the fact that her heat had gone out in the middle of the night, so she’d woken up freezing and had to suffer her way through a frigid shower. Her cat had thrown up in the middle of her living room and she found out by walking through it as she rushed toward the door, so then she’d had to change her shoes.

And then the trains had decided that this, of all mornings, was the time to run on excessive delays.

She got to the test kitchen with an apologetic smile plastered to her face.

After popping some bread into the oven, Claire retreated from the kitchen for a quick bathroom break, which doubled as an opportunity to stop fake-smiling at everybody for a few fucking seconds.

It was on her way there that she ran into Delany, whom, frankly, she’d been avoiding.

Not anything against _him_, of course. It was just that he was always so cheerful, and she always managed to be _genuinely_ cheerful back, even when she was in a bit of a mood. But she wasn’t sure how she could manage that. Not today.

“Oh, hey Claire.” There it was, his kind, sincere smile. “I was just thinking it was weird I hadn’t seen you around this morning.”

“Hi, Delany. Yeah, it’s been a bit of a day.”

“Can I try to brighten it with the daily vibe report?”

And somehow, in the frenzy of her morning, Claire had forgotten. She felt herself smiling back and it maybe even felt sincere. “Absolutely.”

“‘Do You Feel It’ by Holy Wave. That’s the vibe.”

He walked past her, and as Claire ran over the title and artist in her mind, trying to hold on to them until she could get back to her station, she turned to watch him and called out, “What, no explanation on why?”

Delany let out a light laugh and shrugged. “Just feeling it. Feel better, Claire.”

She did already, just a little bit, especially when he passed through the test kitchen an hour later and wordlessly nudged her shoulder with his fist.

\-- _“You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester_ \--

The BA office was decorated to the nines for the Friday before Carla’s birthday, and everyone coordinated family dinner, including her husband, who insisted that he’d manage the boys alone as late as she wanted.

It struck no one as a surprise that Delany played the role of DJ, debuting a new party playlist of all manner of hits since Carla had been alive.

“You’re making me feel old twice!” she told him with a laugh. “First with the songs from the ‘70s that I grew up on and then with the songs from now that I don’t recognize.”

“Don’t worry about it, Carla,” Claire reassured her. “I’m still in my 20s and I don’t recognize half of Delany’s music.”

Everyone there was happy and full and maybe just a little buzzed, pleasantly so as they mingled and chatted about families, vacations, and their newest recipe ideas (because no matter how vehemently someone always declared that BA parties weren’t for shop talk, it was hard not to when food was their job).

Claire was in the middle of talking to Chris about his apartment renovation plans when a new song started on Delany’s playlist and he was suddenly there, at her elbow.

“Morocco,” he said with a serious nod, and Chris laughed and gave him a salute. “Claire. You two are looking so serious.”

“That’s because we’re talking about money.”

“Oh, no no no.” Alex wrinkled his nose. “That is not good Carla Lalli Music party talk.”

“You might be right,” Chris agreed, settling his hand on his hip. “I do feel my wallet aching just thinking about it. Seems like another drink might be a good solution, yeah?”

Claire laughed and nodded. “Go for it.”

So Chris left them alone. Claire was about to ask Delany what _he_ was drinking – it looked like he’d requested one of his own recipes and it had her curious – but before she could say so, he told her, “I realized that since I didn’t come into the office until tonight, I never gave you today’s vibe.”

“You’re right!” she exclaimed. “Hit me with it.”

“It’s this one.” He pointed up, gesturing to the song playing all around them. “Sylvester, absolute _classic_ disco track.”

Claire strained her ears to listen closer to the words, through the chatter all around them. In a moment of eager surprise, she felt her eyes light up. “I know this one!”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. It was a bit of a one-hit wonder.” Maybe it was because of the alcohol or maybe it was just Alex, but he started grooving a bit more, swaying back and forth to the beat. “Makes sense, honestly. I’m pretty sure it’s scientifically impossible to stand still while it’s playing.”

“I don’t know, I’m doing pretty well so far.” Though Claire had to admit that, as soon as she said so, she found herself having to work very hard not to sway along with him.

Delany scoffed and set his drink down on a nearby table, reaching out and hovering his hands over her shoulders. Gently, he used his fingers to nudge her into moving too. “Why are you so stubborn, Saffitz?”

“Because I like bugging you?” she offered. Part of her felt self-conscious, aware that she would never have said that if she didn’t have some alcohol in her, but the other part of her didn’t mind him knowing.

“I’ve noticed,” Alex agreed.

They danced to Sylvester, even as no one else was dancing, and Claire was smiling too wide to feel silly about it.

\-- _“How Long Must I Wait” by Dr. Dog_ \--

Nearly everyone at _Bon Appétit_ was home for the holidays, and Claire was no exception. Her parents had her out picking up everything from their massive grocery list. This was possibly the worst thing about her decision to go into baking: her family expected her to make the decisions about food.

She was at her last stop—Protzel’s, the same deli she went to at least two or three times a week growing up. While she was waiting on her meat order, she stared into the display case, contemplating whether she wanted a knish for the drive home, when she suddenly thought of a conversation that she and Delany had had a million times.

_About to order some of the best knishes in the world_, she texted him, snapping a photo of the case.

Immediately, she followed up with, _Also make note of the best corned beef in the world in the background_.

Delany replied while she was waiting for her change. _You keep telling me that but I’m still waiting for the proof_.

Claire grinned down at her phone. _Believe it or not, they don’t travel well by plane_.

_What a shame_.

She sat in the car, nibbling on her knish. _Can I get a vibe report?_

He didn’t answer until she was back at her parents’ place. _“How Long Must I Wait” by Dr. Dog. It’s a good one_.

_A good song or a good day?_

_Both_. Followed immediately with, _Hope I can try those knishes someday_.

\-- _“I’d Have You Anytime” by George Harrison_ \--

Alex had to go to a soft opening for a bar – “What the hell even is your job, Delany?” Claire asked, as though they didn’t all have occasion to attend comparable events and get paid for it – and he asked Claire, Brad, and Andy to join him.

But then Brad brought his wife, and Andy brought his boyfriend, so that relatively early in the evening, it proved to be Claire and Delany, alone.

“Let me walk you home,” he said, once she announced that she was too tired to stay another minute.

She put on a show of reluctance, but as they left the bar together, she looped their arms together and smiled into the brisk wind, her cheeks pink and eyes bright.

“God, I left home so early today…” she mused to him. “Like, you know those days that feel like two days in one? This is one of those. Work was a day, that bar was a day. Which, what a great bar, by the way.”

Delany beamed down at her as they stopped at a red light. “You’re so right. About the bar and the days, I mean. And you know what that means.”

“Two-vibe day?” Claire offered.

“Two-vibe day!” he agreed. Considering it for a few moments, he said, “Oh, it’s gotta be George Harrison. ‘I’d Have You Anytime.’”

Claire nodded thoughtfully, even though she did not know the song in question. “I’ll listen when I get home.”

“Promise?”

“Of course. I always listen to the vibes.”

And true to her word, she did—once, then over and over as she drifted off to sleep.

\-- _“Feeling Without Touching” by Glass Candy_ \--

When Claire arrived at her desk on her 30th birthday, everyone at _Bon Appétit_ surprised her, showering her with love and cards and good coffee. Delany and Chris had mimosas in everybody’s hands in a flash, and for the rest of the morning, all work ground to a halt to celebrate her.

“How does it feel to be 30, Saffitz?”

“It felt pretty good until I got to work,” she said, grimacing at Alex even as she tried to keep her voice too quiet for anyone else to hear. “You do know that this much attention is my biggest nightmare.”

“Sometimes you deserve to be reminded of how many people here love you,” Delany retorted. “And I feel like your 30th is one of those times.”

Claire couldn’t help but smile wide at him as he took a sip of his mimosa. “So what’s the vibe report for my 30th? Since it’s such a special day.”

“Right, of course! One of the reasons I came over here. So today I’m going with ‘Feeling Without Touching’ by Glass Candy.”

“How the hell do you still manage to find so many musicians I’ve never heard of?” Claire asked, feigning exasperation. “I feel like it should be illegal to be this pretentious about both beer and music at the same time.”

Alex laughed, even as her words clearly hit—that was a blush she saw spreading across his features as he exclaimed his objections.

\-- _“I Only Have Eyes for You” by Tashaki Miyaki_ \--

“Of course Brad starts to develop a YouTube presence and his first reaction is to throw a party.”

Alex and Claire had found themselves off to the side of Brad’s living room while their host led many of his visitors on a tour of his place. Each of them had been there recently enough that they didn’t feel particularly compelled to hear his spiel about his recent additions to his grill and kitchen set-ups.

“Hey, be nice,” Claire chided. “He’s very proud. I think Rapo said it’s doing well enough that the people upstairs are starting to talk about doing more series.”

“So what I’m hearing is that I’m a pioneer,” Brad announced, throwing his arms around Claire and Delany’s shoulders as he appeared behind them.

Claire laughed and swatted Brad away. “Your words, not mine.”

Meanwhile, Alex clapped their host on the back and said, “Hey man, now that you’re back, can you tell me which of your drinks are fair game tonight? I promised Claire a cocktail but I didn’t want to accidentally use something you were saving.”

“Good looking out, Delany. C’mere, I’ll walk you through your options.” Brad glanced back at Claire as he led them toward the liquor cabinet. “What’s the cocktail for, Claire?”

“Oh, he bet me that he could make the better burger for Chris, but then he put peanut butter on his.”

“Peanut butter?” Brad echoed. “Shit, Delany, if you wanted to lose that bet so bad, you shoulda just asked Claire to get a drink.”

Alex frowned, affronted. “Hey, I did _not_ know that Morocco didn’t like peanut butter.”

“Mm, a likely story.” But Brad said no more about it as they reached his liquor; instead, he began pointing out bottles. “Okay. That whiskey is a no-go, muddling it with other ingredients would be a crime. Um, that bourbon should be okay…”

Claire didn’t even hear Brad—her mind was on his previous comment, about Chris and peanut butter, because… yeah, it had been something of a surprise that Delany didn’t remember Chris’s vehement hatred for peanut butter.

“… so I guess I’ll leave you to it.”

Delany considered the world of options before him while Brad left to see his other guests. Finally, he smiled to himself and nodded. “This one, perfect for tonight’s vibe.”

“The vibe!” Claire exclaimed. “You never gave me the vibe report, Alex, you’re slacking.”

“Oh, man, I thought I did. Oh, it’s this Tashaki Miyaki cover that’s been in my head all day…” He squinted up at the ceiling, thinking. “‘I Only Have Eyes for You.’ That’s the one.”

\-- _“Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monáe_ \--

“Hot off the presses vibe report,” Delany announced, sidling up to Claire’s station and hitting his fists against the counter.

“Yeah?” Claire looked to him at once, feeling immediate relief at being able to take her mind off of _Gourmet Makes_ for a few seconds. “How hot off the presses?”

“Today hot off the presses.” He grinned and raised his eyebrows. “‘Make Me Feel’ by Janelle Monáe. Look it up, Claire!”

And as quickly as he’d arrived, he was gone. Claire felt herself smiling as she watched after him.

“What’s a vibe report?” Dan asked from across the counter, pulling Claire out of a headspace she didn’t even realize she’d gotten into.

“Oh, it’s…” She was struck by the fact that Delany had been at BA for a good three and a half years, and no one had ever asked. Part of her had assumed that this was just a thing he did, so there was no need to explain.

Part of her had assumed that this was just a thing he did with her, in which case, she didn’t know whether she would… want to explain. It had become such a large part of her routine that, if it was just an inside thing between her and Delany, she kind of wanted to keep it that way.

“It’s nothing,” she concluded at last.

\-- _“Loving You Is on My Mind” by The Meters_ \--

Claire and Delany found themselves crowding into the elevator together, and as they stood pressed close, he said, “Sorry I had to leave before you finished your Oreos.”

“I think you mean, ‘before you got to try my Oreos,’” Claire offered with a soft smile.

“Well yeah, that part’s just implied.”

Although she considered keeping him in suspense, she couldn’t resist sharing. “Don’t worry, I saved one for you. It’s at your desk.”

“I knew you were my favorite.” His eyes widened in surprise and he said, “Oh, hey, today’s vibe just started playing.”

He held out his earbud for her, and she took it at once. “What is it today?”

“The Meters. ‘Loving You Is on My Mind.’”

The song lasted longer than the elevator ride and the walk to his desk, so that they found themselves standing, silent but smiling. Finally, it drew to a close and Claire said, “It’s so cheerful.”

“I’ve had a good start to the day,” he told her with a grin.

\-- _“The Way Things Change” by Yellow Days_ \--

On her 30th birthday, Alex said that Claire would be able to make just as big a deal out of his 25th birthday celebration the following year, but when that day came, she wasn’t there.

She hadn’t been able to bring herself to text any of her co-workers since leaving. It wasn’t that she felt any ill will toward them, as much as she had just worn herself out of everything the magazine, and her damn YouTube series, was doing to her. Talking to them still felt like she would backslide into all of those bad feelings.

And when she woke up and realized that it was Delany’s birthday, she felt convinced that this would be no exception. Somehow, he seemed like the hardest person to say anything to; even though he’d started a year after her at _Bon Appétit_, much of their friendship at first had developed over their somewhat shared newbie status. Over her having just enough more experience that she was able to show him the ropes.

It felt wrong, for her to be gone.

It also felt wrong to go that day without a vibe report, and somehow, that was the feeling that won out.

She texted him over dinner.

_Here’s to 25. I miss you. Can I get a vibe report?_

_I miss you too. “The Way Things Change.” Yellow Days._

Claire listened, and she cried, and she tried not to feel silly about it.

He texted her vibe reports completely unprompted after that.

\-- _“Never Be Another You” by Lee Fields & The Expressions_ \--

“Claire Saffitz, back in the saddle!”

Many, many people had stopped Claire upon seeing her back in the building and told her how pleased they were to see her, but somehow, she’d not smiled as sincerely as she did when Delany appeared during her first day back shooting _Gourmet Makes_.

“Trying to be,” she agreed. “We’ll see if it sticks.”

“Oh, it will.” he nodded seriously. “The kitchen needed you.”

“Aw, thanks, Delany. Now are you gonna tell me the vibe?”

“‘Never Be Another You.’ Lee Fields & The Expressions. Y’know. In honor of you guys getting the band back together.”

She couldn’t help smiling wider, a smile which lingered long after Alex left.

\-- _“How Can I Tell You” by Cat Stevens; “Dreaming” by Horsebeach_ \--

Claire had barely woken up from a nap when her phone rang, and she cringed at how groggy she sounded as she said, “Hello?”

“Oh, shit, did I wake you up?”

“Delany,” she murmured, feeling her lips curl up into a smile. “Hi. No, I’ve been awake, just not for long. What’s up?”

“Well, I just… I heard you’re home with the flu, and I didn’t like the idea of you trying to take care of yourself, so I was thinking maybe I could drop you off some of my mom’s perfect chicken soup recipe?”

If she had thought of eating even minutes before, Claire wouldn’t have been able to stomach the idea of soup, but she suddenly felt her stomach rumbling, and against her better judgement, she didn’t even bother to feign courtesy with him. “Honestly, that sounds great.”

“Perfect. Wanna buzz me up?”

Claire was up and out of bed at once, frantically looking around for her robe so that Alex wouldn’t have to see her ratty old sick pajamas. “What, you’re here now?”

“Yep. Shivering my ass off, I might add.”

“I hear you, I hear you, I’m coming.” Claire tried not to think about what a pig sty her place was as she pressed the buzzer to let him in.

She had her door open and peered out in the hallway so that she could watch as he rounded the corner, his hat, scarf, and coat sprinkled with snow and his nose pink from the cold. Delany had clearly come straight from work, his bag still over his shoulder, and under his arm was an enormous paper bag which – Claire had to assume – held the soup.

“Holding up alright, Saffitz?” he asked as he neared her door.

“I mean, I’m not dead,” Claire offered. “I feel like that’s the most positive thing I can say right now.”

Delany smiled softly and leaned against the door jamb, hefting the paper bag up in his arm. “You don’t have to worry about cooking your next four meals. I feel like that’s gotta be a positive.”

“Yes, of course. It’s wonderful, Delany, thank you. Honestly. I’d hug you, but, y’know. Flu.”

“I’ll save it for a rainy day,” he proposed, and Claire smirked.

He was about to leave when she said, “Hang on, since I didn’t come in today, you never gave me the vibe report.”

Something passed across Alex’s face, an expression of frustration or bewilderment or exasperation that Claire didn’t have enough time to puzzle over before, suddenly, he was smiling warmly again. “It’s been a two-vibe day. Cat Stevens, ‘How Can I Tell You,’ and Horsebeach, ‘Dreaming.’”

Claire looked them up as soon as he was gone, and she felt an ache in her gut over them both. An ache that had absolutely nothing to do with the idea that Delany might be pining after someone, someone that wasn’t her.

Now there was a novel thought.

Or perhaps it wasn’t so novel. Perhaps Claire found herself aching because the fanciful idea of Alex wanting her – of her wanting Alex, of wanting Alex to want her – wasn’t so novel after all.

She was too sick to deal with this shit.

\-- _“Strictly Reserved for You” by Charles Bradley_ \--

Claire was back home with her parents when she received a photo from Delany.

_Stocked up on some microbrews as a late Christmas present for the BA folks, you get first dibs._

There was little reason to consider her options once she caught sight of the one labeled with “coffee.”

_I thought you’d feel that way._

Accompanying that text came a smiley face and a second photo, in which Alex had attached a post-it note to Claire’s drink, on which he’d written, _“Strictly Reserved for You.” Charles Bradley._

_Vibe report?_

He agreed. _Vibe report_.

She listened to the track in her childhood bedroom, staring up at a ceiling of glow-in-the-dark stars, and with her heart in her throat, she texted him back again, asking how his time home was going.

Their exchange lasted late into the night.

\-- _“Come Get Me” by Stephen Malkmus_ \--

It had been a long time since Claire was last in the test kitchen for any meaningful amount of time without filming, but her gas was out at home, and she really couldn’t fall behind on taking photos of her recipes for her cookbook. So well after many of her co-workers had gone home, she and Molly worked at neighboring stations, chatting to fill the silence until Claire suddenly realized—“Hey, mind if I play some music?”

“Go for it!” Molly exclaimed eagerly. And barely thinking anything of it, Claire put on her compiled playlist of all of Delany’s “song of the day” vibes.

The music had been going for about half an hour when Molly said, “Damn, Claire, I love whatever you’ve been playing. Is it a Valentine’s Day playlist?”

“Huh?” Claire’s hands froze on the handle of her oven, which she’d been about to open to remove a pie. “No, it’s, uh… just something I put together. What do you mean, Valentine’s Day playlist?”

“Oh, I dunno. I wasn’t always listening _super_ closely, but it sounded like it was all love songs, so I just assumed.”

She shrugged, busying herself with collecting her dishes from her station. Meanwhile, Claire’s throat was suddenly quite dry as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through the playlist, taking in the titles of all of the songs as they flashed by.

“Oh my God, you’re right,” she whispered.

“What?”

“They’re all love songs. You’re right.”

Four and a half years of telling her songs almost every day, and she’d never noticed. She’d never allowed herself to notice.

Molly squinted at her, fully aware that she was missing something. “Why do I feel like there’s a joke I’m not in on, here?”

Because Claire was already thinking back to that morning’s vibe report, which Delany had delivered immediately before lunch because he had to take the afternoon off for a doctor’s appointment.

She couldn’t remember what the hell lame excuse he’d given – because shit, they’d always been lame excuses when he bothered to give them, hadn’t they? – but the song had been “Come Get Me” by Stephen Malkmus.

“I… need to go,” she said, instead of answering Molly’s question. She only barely had the presence of mind to pull her pie out of the oven and clear her station before she was gone, with the apology to Molly that, “I’ll explain it all to you tomorrow.”

Claire had about a half-hour train ride ahead of her, and possibly against her better judgement, she scrolled through Delany’s playlist more attentively, trying to take it all in.

Why hadn’t he said anything? But then again, why hadn’t she noticed?

She stood at the stoop of his building, the wind biting and her teeth chattering as she dialed his number.

“Saffitz, what’s up?”

“Hey, Delany. I was just wondering, are you at home right now?”

“No,” he said, and Claire’s stomach plummeted to her feet. God damn it, she knew she was being rash. She should have called him right away, while she was still back at the test kitchen.

But then he continued. “I ran to the bodega to pick up a few things, but I’m walking back n-- is that you?”

Claire twisted to look around immediately, spotting Delany on the corner with a bag in his hand. He seemed frozen in place where he stood, staring at her.

“Hi,” she said softly.

It took a few seconds for Delany to move again. “Hi. You been standing out here long?”

“No, no, I… I just got here.”

“Me too,” he agreed as he, too, reached his stoop. Wordlessly, they both hung up their cell phones. “What are you doing outside of my apartment, Claire?”

Feeling an immediate skepticism about her reading of the situation, it took everything in her to tell him, “I mean, you… you told me to… come.”

Delany began to smile at once, and with that expression alone, Claire found that she was no longer bothered by how cold she’d felt moments before. “I did, did I?”

“You did. You told me a million things that I never noticed. I feel like I should have noticed.”

“I’m inclined to agree, but I think I’m a little biased.” Delany tilted his head to the side just slightly, and he cast his gaze across Claire’s face—her eyes, her red cheeks, her lips. As he looked, he took a slow, tentative step forward, getting into Claire’s space in a way that he’d always been careful not to before.

Claire, perched on her tiptoes, her arms around his neck, and his forehead against hers… she lingered there, her lips inches from his, long enough to say, “Also, I brought you a pie, but I think I let it burn a bit when I realized you’re in love with me.”

“That’s a promising start,” he told her. She grinned against his lips as he closed the remaining distance between them to kiss her.

\-- _“Another First Kiss” by They Might Be Giants_ \--

Not long after Delany’s lunch break, he wandered into the test kitchen, purportedly to investigate the potential for scrounging up some snacks.

Claire heard his steps and turned away from the camera, spotting him and smiling warmly as he drew closer.

“Vibe report?” she asked, cocking her head at him.

“Absolutely.”

In the distance – or at least, it sounded quite distant – Dan announced that they were cutting, but Claire barely heard it over Delany saying, “They Might Be Giants. ‘Another First Kiss.’”

She wrinkled her nose. “The ‘Istanbul’ guys?”

“Yes, the ‘Istanbul’ guys,” he agreed, sighing heavily. “Singing an obscenely sentimental song.”

Claire raised her eyebrows at Delany. “If you wanted a kiss before you went back to work, all you had to do was ask.”

He bent down and kissed her soft and slow. 


End file.
